NOTES OUT OF THE CATECHISM CLASSES Of Rev. J.Fraanje Using The Catechism Book

Of Sanctification and good works

Lesson 34 Part I

Hellenbroek asks in the lesson on the effectual calling, “To what end is Christ thus exalted?”

Answer: To apply His benefits to us.

What are the benefits bestowed in this life?

Answer: They are calling, justification, and sanctification.

We have seen that the calling is the first benefit in this life and that there are two kinds of calling. The outward call only occurs through God’s Word. The inward call takes place through Word and Spirit in the heart of the elect and it alone is soul-saving.

After the inward call the second benefit, justification is applied. This is an acquital of guilt and punishment and a bestowing of the right to eternal life.

Now, there are two kinds of sins: original and actual. And what were we taught regarding original sins? Into how many parts are they divided?

Answer: Into two parts—inherited guilt, 2nd—inherited pollution.

Inherited guilt is the guilt of the first sin. This is chargeable to us in Adam before we are born. But inherited pollution is the inbred corruption which we inherit from our parents.

Hellenbroek explains that justification is an act that takes place outside of man and it takes away the guilt of sin.

But sanctification takes place within a person and effects the pollution of sin.

Justification takes place in completeness, because it is an aquittal of the sinner for Christ’s sake in the court of the conscience where the First Person is Judge, the Second Person is Surety and the Third, the Holy Spirit, places His seal upon the entire work. The mouth of witnesses are stopped and the accused accepts the acquittal by faith. That is a complete work.

This was just a brief recapitulation. But this afternoon Hellenbroek deals with the lesson on Sanctification.

He puts the question: Are those who are justified also sanctified?

Answer: Yes, both go together. I Cor. 1:30, “But of Him ye are in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.”

What is sanctification?

Answer: A renewing of the whole man.

Is it not only a change in the outward actions?

Answer: No, but also of the inward man.

Does an external change also flow from it?

Answer: Yes, in all the conduct. I Thess. 5:23, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This renewing of the inward man is the work of the Holy Spirit, Who works in the heart of the elect to take away the pollution of sin and to destroy the clinging corruption in its nature. Even though a child of God is acquitted of all guilt and can never ever be condemned, but contrariwise becomes a new creature in respect to his state. His nature, though, is still corrupt. Sins of all sorts, in thoughts, words, and deeds cleave unto him daily.

The Lord desires that this ever clinging corruption becomes progressively brought to nothing immediately after the guilt is removed in justification. Paul wrote often of this mortification of sins in believers. But sanctification is never perfected in this life, even in the most advanced believers. That is why he says in Philippians 3:12, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.”

Paul did not mean in this text he “followed after” whether his sins had still to be forgiven, no, that had taken place; of that he was sure. But, he felt himself still imperfect in sanctification. That is why he “followed after” (or was concerned) that he become increasingly sanctified, “Till we come (as he says in Ephesians 4:13) in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” It is plain here that Paul is speaking not of justification, but of sanctification. He begins the chapter by saying, “I therefore the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called with all lowliness and meekness, etc.”

The apostle strongly urged the fulfillment by faith of sanctification after the calling and justification, “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,” as he says in verse 12.

Is sanctification present in all believers in equal measure?

No, it has its various degrees; in one more and in another less. It is also changeable and subject to increase and decrease in the self same person, (Question 9). Would it be possible, then, that a child of God be entirely without sanctification, or if he had possessed it, later could lose all of it?

No, that is impossible, where the grace of God has once been, there it remains. There is no apostasy of saints.

Who can give me an example to prove that there is no apostasy of saints?

Answer: I Peter 1:5, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith” and unto what? “Unto salvation already to be revealed in the last time.”

Can we cite instances from God s Word that show sanctification in a believer to be more at one time than another?

Yes, that is clearly obvious in saints of the Bible. When David had fallen into sin by numbering the people, etc. there was not much exercise of sanctification to be seen in his daily life. So it was with Noah when he was drunken and with Peter when he denied his Lord. Various persons could be mentioned to prove that the saints are subject to continual increase and decrease in the exercise of sanctification. This was true in Hezekiah’s case too. He had no lively exercise of sanctification when he allowed the messengers of Babylon to see all his treasures. It was then that pride should have been mortified instead of nourished.

How do God’s people advance in sanctification?

Answer: By removing all inward and outward hindrances through grace of the Holy Spirit, depending upon Jesus’ power in using all means toward advancement.

Now I am going to ask you something, the answer of which, you will not find in your lesson. This is a difficult lesson to comprehend, but do try to listen atttentively.

If sanctification is merely imperfect in the saints and at times they fall into outward sins, can we consider that to be genuine sanctification? Can such a thing be?

Yes, even if it is here in part and imperfect, it is still the genuine nature of sanctification. All the elect are perfectly righteous in Christ their Head and likewise are they perfectly holy in their Head Christ Jesus. They are as free from the pollution of sin in Him as they are from the guilt of sin. Yet they must endure the indwelling corruption as a vexing power till the day of their death. The daily decreasing of sins and the increasing mortification of the old man is a matter that takes place here only in part. The difference lies in this:

1st. What God’s people are before God in Christ Jesus, or,

2nd. What they actually and personally experience in practice here in this life.

Even if one would reach the highest step of sanctification here by means of the Holy Spirit, the unfolding of it and the complete removal of the inherent corruption and the succeeding glorification shall be in heaven.

God’s people will not only be freed from the condemning power that is, the strength of sin, but also from the vexing power which is the deed of sin. So, not only freed from the body of sin but also from the body of death.

It was very evident that Paul knew the difference between these two; he spoke of it in Romans 7:24 “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

He longed for the perfection in sanctification which only exists in glorification.

Faith will no longer be necessary there because it will be a perfect beholding. Hope also will have no place because it is a matter of eternal possession. But love shall continue without end. Love never perishes and is superior to all.

RICHARD SIBBES (1577–1635)

Richard Sibbes was born at Tostock in Suffolk, four miles from Bury St. Edmunds in 1577. Shortly after his birth, his father, who was by trade a wheelwright, moved to Thurston, about three miles away. His father was described by a contemporary as “a skilful workman, and a good sound-hearted Christian.” Thus Richard was brought up in a moral atmosphere, and was sent by his father to the local grammar school. Though the family circumstances were not easy, as Richard was one of a large number of children, his father realising that this boy had a strong inclination towards books, made the effort to keep him at school until he was ready to go to Cambridge University. Every day Richard went to the free school at Bury St. Edmunds, and the Vicar of Thurston records that he was more often seen reading a book on his way home than playing with other boys. This would have been the school founded by Edward VI. Just about the time he was due to go to University, to quote the Vicar, “His father grew weary of his expenses for books and learning, took him from school, bought him an axe, and some other tools, and set him to his own trade, to the great discontent of the youth, whose genius wholly carried him another way.” But the Lord had other purposes for him. The Vicar of Thurston, and a local lawyer intervened, and without his father’s consent, sent Richard with letters of recommendation to some of the Fellows of St. John’s College, Cambridge. He was first, after an examination, received as a poor student, and then appointed a Scholar of the College. He was eighteen at the time, and the year was 1595. The records of St. John’s College show that he obtained his B.A. in 1598, was admitted as a Fellow of his College on the 3rd April, 1601, commenced his M.A. in 1602, was elected College Preacher in 1609, and obtained his Bachelor of Divinity in 1610. In the early years after 1595, as his father could give him little money, he was helped by the Vicar of Thurston, Mr. Rushbrook, his lawyer friend, and others.

He was called by grace about 1602 under the ministry of Paul Baines, one of the early Puritans, who had succeeded the famous William Perkins as minister of St. Andrew’s Church, Cambridge. Clarke in his “Lives of Thirty Two English Divines,” written in 1677, says, “It pleased God to make Paul Baines an instrument of the conversion of that holy and eminent servant of Christ, Dr. Sibbes.” In 1618, Sibbes wrote a preface for Paul Baines’ “Exposition of the First Chapter of Ephesians,” but made no reference to any blessing received under Baines’ ministry. This was in accordance with principles which he expressed in sermons entitled “A Description of Christ,” which comprised the introduction to his famous book, “The Bruised Reed and the Smoking Flax.” which was first printed in 1630. There he wrote, “Let us labour to be good in secret. Christians should be as minerals, rich in the depth of the earth. That which is least seen in his riches. We should have our treasure deep. For the discovery of it, we should be ready when we are called to it.” In 1610, he accepted a Lectureship at Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge at the request of the parishioners. This amounted to a regular weekly preaching engagement, and was extra assistance for the Vicar and Curate. His ministry there was greatly blessed, and was the means of many being converted. Amongst these was John Cotton, a noted Puritan preacher, whose first sermon was the means of the conversion of Dr. Preston, who was later Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and a friend of Oliver Cromwell. Sibbes’ ministry was also the means in the Lord’s hands of bringing Thomas Goodwin to an understanding of the doctrines of grace. Preaching the truth so faithfully, and with such blessing, he inevitably came to the notice of Archbishop Laud, who was even then beginning his policy of persecuting godly men. In 1615, after five years, he was stopped preaching, and deprived of both his Fellowship at St. John’s College, and his Lectureship at Holy Trinity.

In 1616, Sir Henry Yelverton, a patron of godly ministers, secured for him the preachership of the Law Courts at Gray’s Inn, London, and here he preached regularly until his death in 1635. Many distinguished men, including the famous Francis Bacon, sat under his ministry. In 1626, he was offered the post of Provost of Trinity College, Dublin by Archbishop Usher, who was a close friend of his and a godly man, but he declined, and in the same year, became Master of Catherine Hall, Cambridge, while at the same time, preaching regularly at Gray’s Inn on Sundays. Catherine Hail, though a small College, could number amongst its former students, John Bradford, the martyr, and Thomas Goodwin. It was strange how Sibbes, exiled from Cambridge by Laud, now returned as a Master of a College. This was probably due to the influence of Dr. Preston, the Master of Emmanuel, which was known as the College of the Puritans. Preston had taken over the Trinity Lecturership in 1624, although both the King and Archbishop Laud had tried to stop him, by offering him the post of Bishop of Gloucester. But he preferred to stay and preach the gospel in Cambridge, and now had a great companion in this work with Sibbes’ return. Both had a great love for each other, like David and Jonathan, and their two Colleges were twin centres of blessing in Cambridge as far as good preaching was concerned. Often they preached at St. Mary’s, the University Church, and among their congregation would have been such well-known Puritans as John Milton and William Gouge, who were students at that time in the University. In 1627, Sibbes was ordered, with three other leading Puritans to Appear before the iniquitous Court of the Star Chamber, through which Laud carried out his persecution of the Puritans, and was reprimanded as a “notorious delinquent” for having sent out a circular letter, asking for money for refugee Protestant ministers, their wives and congregations, who had suffered persecution from the Catholics in Bohemia, and in Germany in the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648). To this act of kindness, Archbishop Laud objected, and it is not hard to see this High Churchman’s hatred of everything Protestant, and his support for Catholicism. But Sibbes was not to be silenced, and in a sermon entitled “The Soul’s Conflict”, he said, “Shall the members of Christ suffer in other countries, and we profess ourselves the living members, and not sympathise with them?”

In 1632, Sibbes was again accused by Laud before the Star Chamber; this time for raising funds to purchase Lecturerships throughout the country to which Puritan preachers might be appointed. This work had started in 1626, and the delay in stopping it had been due partly to the death of James I and the accession of Charles I, and also to the severe criticism of Laud’s work by the House of Commons between 1627–29, from the lips of such men as Oliver Cromwell, Pym, Hampden, Eliot and others. Many of these men were sent to the Tower by Charles I, others fled to Holland, and the King did not hold another Parliament for eleven years. Some like Cromwell and Sibbes, stayed in this country and escaped arrest. Referring to Sibbes and his friends in his diary, Archbishop Laud says, “They were the main instruments of the Puritan faction to undo the Church.” The Star Chamber verdict in 1632 was confiscation of funds and banishment, though as far as Sibbes is concerned, no part of the sentence seems to have been carried out.

Sibbes wrote many Prefaces to the works of his friends and contemporaries, and from these we get little glimpses of him and his acquaintances. On the death of Paul Baines in 1617, he wrote an introduction to Baines’ book, “An Exposition of the First Chapter of the Epistle to the Elphesians,” which dealt mainly on the subject of predestination. He refers to Baines as “his father in the gospel,” and says of him, “He was a man of much communion with God, and acquaintance with his own heart… and was exercised much with spiritual conflicts… he had a deep insight into the mystery of God’s grace, and man’s corruption… one that had not all his learning out of books.” In his preface to Henry Scudder’s book on prayer, entitled, “The Key of Heaven and Lord’s Prayer Opened,” Sibbes wrote, “God’s manner is to keep many blessings from His children until they have begged for them, as delighting to hear His children speak. The consideration whereof moveth those who have secret communion with God to acknowledge Him in all their ways, depending on Him for direction, strength and success. Whereupon He delighteth in showing Himself more familiarly unto them in the sweetest expressions of His love.” Sibbes goes on to say, “If ever there were a time of praying ‘Thy kingdom come’, ‘let Christ arise and let His enemies be scattered’, then certainly now is the time… It is God’s manner before any great work for His Church, to stir up the spirits of His beloved ones to give Him no rest.” This was written in 1620, and how strangely these prayers of men like Sibbes were answered as Puritan teaching spread in this country throughout the Civil Wars, the Great Ejection of 1662, the persecution of Charles II and James II (1660–88), until the days of the Glorious Revolution when religious freedom was established in this country, leading to the spread of truth in the 18th century in the days of Watts, Whitefield and their contemporaries. Of his own writings, Sibbes is most well-known for his two books, “The Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax” and the “Soul’s Conflict.” He passed to his eternal rest on 5th July, 1635, in his 58th year. He did not live to see the great Civil War, but greatly influenced men who did.

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